8 comments:

Great piece, Troy. I'm a late-comer to Gunsmoke, only really paying attention to it since 2012 as it airs on the MeTV channel (and the Mashal Dillon episodes air on EncoreWestern). I knew of it back in the day, but pay little attention to it because it didn't have laser guns (I am a Star Wars kid). It was also on Saturday afternoons prior to The Wild Wild West, my preferred show at the time. But now as an adult and a western writer, Gunsmoke is high on my list of favorite westerns to watch.

Troy, I was little tyke when Gunsmoke was on, and in that opening scene where Matt faces down the bad guy on the street, for some reason, my childish brain focused on how tight his pants were--I called him "Tight Britches"--which made my parents laugh themselves silly, and ever after, my dad would say, "Well, let's turn on the tv and see what kind of trouble ol' Tight Britches is getting himself in tonight." LOL He loved that show and so did I--lots of great memories watching as a family--Mom was more of a movie watcher but she did enjoy Gunsmoke.

About 10 years ago I was buying some DVDs at the Borders bookstore in Santa Monica, California. The young guy waiting on me said that his grandfather was an actor. I asked who he was, wondering if it would be a character actor so obscure I wouldn't be able to place him. James Arness, he said. My response was that of course I know him; I've only watched Gunsmoke all my life. There wasn't a line so we spent a couple of minutes talking about his granddad's career. I really enjoyed that random chance to send a second-hand fan letter to an actor whose show I grew up with and still love.

My Gunsmoke story is that I met Ken Curtis (Festus). He was the guest star on a music show where I was a regular. Ken was just the nicest man and had an INCREDIBLE baritone voice. He was once a member of the Sons of the Pioneers.